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Over 49,324 reviews forChicago Lighting Companies from people just like you.

A

"I had them out a couple times. They did a great job on the work I needed done such as adjust an outdoor light and other small electrical jobs. I had no problem scheduling" ...More the deal and they made sure to keep in touch with me.

-ERNESTINE H.

A

"That was a fine experience. He did do good work for us and the service was fine. We hired him to fix the light in the kitchen. We thought that there was a circuit" ...More issue as the switch wasn’t working. The problem ended up being a problem in the dimmer switch. Originally, we had hoped to add some overhead lighting in our downstairs dining area but the kitchen issue came up and we decided to use the deal for that problem instead.

Angie's Answers

THE Cost of the recessed light is largly determinate on Where ,You purchase the product and the number you buy .Big Box dicount stores have products made oversea's that are less expensive than those found at Custom Bath & Kitchen Stores , but the products are often riddled with problems , missing parts , defects etc,

A typical light will run $ 35.00 to $ 85.00

However , the true cost of recessed lighting is involved in getting circuits or circuity to the switch and lighting system .In NEW construction , this matter is easily dealt with by installing circuits and hardware during framing . Whereas , with remodeling , installing new lighting into existing spaces , requires wall & ceiling opening ,closure , repair , repainting & finishing

I have been involved in projects where the lighting cost but $500.00 ,,

Your total cost could be from 1.5-3 times that shown in the answer, depending on how much of the wiring for the three fans he can combine - i.e. can he easily run one power circuit for all 3 fans, then just tap off that for switches and runs to the fans, are they fans only or with lights (double the wiring and switches), etc. Note the costs do NOT include drywall/panelling repair or painting to match. Also, you are going to be near the top end of the estimates, because in all probability your access is poor, and 3 fans are almost certain to require a totally new run from the breaker box.

Unless you have an open exposed-joist attic above where the fans are to go AND the top of the walls the switches will go in, you can expect substantial holes in walls and ceiling to pull the wires and fasten them - by code, you cannot just pull wires between joist and let them lie on the top of the ceiling drywall - you have to staple them to joists every few feet, so you end up with several 1-2 foot holes typically near top of the wall (to drill through top plate), near side of ceiling to grab and bend wire coming up wall, and maybe one mid-ceiling to reach in and fasten wire, then of course the two openings that are ultimately fully concealed by the switch plate and the fan mounting plate or dome.

Before you get into this project I would check with the condo management if you are allowed to do this - there are limits to how much you can modify your condo and how much you can modify or add in the way of electric circuits.

Ahhhh - the light bulb comes on - but I didn't see the rabbit - it must have made it down the hole. Was I right about you upgrading the bulbs from a lower wattage, and that is when they started going out ?

I seriously doubt it is the track, from what you say and especially since the one head works fine at various places along the track. My guess - because these are apparently 110V track but 12V transformer INSIDE the head that mounts to the track, I would say it is the transformer overheating - a VERY common thing with modern electronics and cheap transformers from China. Commonly they have a thermal protector that cuts out when overheated, but overheating 2 or 3 times is normally fatal for them. I bet the transformers have fried, and that even the ones still working are smoked and probably have deformed plastic around them.

The unit is rated to 75W max, and the bulbs you have are 75W and of a design that provides little airflow around them (zero if you are using the glass cover plates for the heads) and has a lot of heat in the upper portion of it - in my opinion just another dumb design. I will give 10:1 odds there are not air holes in the top of the heads either - UL should ban that practice.

Personally, if it were all new I would return it all for my money back right off. Since the track and some heads are old and you are invested in them already, I would gather up receipts and eMail the manufacturer about the issue, and the number of heads that have gone out (old and new combined) and see what they say. I would suspect they will offer to at least send replacements if you send the receipts and bad heads. I would then return any unused bulbs for credit to wherever you got them, and get different bulbs. You will have to ask the manufacturer if the transformer circuitry can handle MR16 GU5.3 base LED bulbs - Amazon has them, if your heads can take them - will run a LOT cooler. Otherwise, 50 Watt Halogen bulbs should fit and might run cool enough to not overheat ?

With transformers in the heads, I would use LED bulbs if compatible with transformer and circuitry.

BTW - you did not say if you tried the "dead" bulbs in the "good" heads - my guess (do just a short test) is they will work, and the bulbs are not the problem at all - it is the transformers.

Your other option. and what I would do unless you are attached to this style fixture or it is mounted to ceiling permanently and you do not know how to change it (or don't want to), so would cost about $125 for an electrician to come out: is to get what you can in refund from the manufacturer (or distributor, if they have good defect return policy), scrap the whole system, and save a LOT of money in the long run on energy costs by going to a 120V CFL or LED bulb system. Use LED if this is a short-term use system, or CFL only if one that will be on for many hours at a time - they burn out quick in frequent short use applications, but go seems like forever in long term use. I have one 60W (equivalent) GE CFL that I use as a nightlight but stays on 24/365 and has been on continuously for over 4 years without burning out. A number of identical ones we tried in applications where they were only on for a few minutes at a time went back under warranty after in a few months. If you are looking for a true "spot" light, then I recommend LED anyway, unless you don't like their "artificial" light.

Here is the info sheet on your unit, with company contact info at bottom:

Depends a tremendous amount on access - if accessible from exposed-joist in attic above, then you might get this for about $300-500 or so for the wiring and installation, plus $200-400 for the materials and dimmer switches, plus the cost of the light fixtures themselves. Probably about $100-150 to repair ceiling if single hole for one fixture, to $200-300 if existing trough-type flourescent fixtures. Painting the repair could be $100 - 250 depending on whether he can match the patch, or has to repaint the entire ceiling to get a uniform effect - which is more common in kitchens, which usually have untextured ceilings and gloss paint. Another alternative it is have the hole patched and prime and plain paint it yourself, then cover the area with a decorative emblem or crest to avoid having to repaint the whole ceiling. Personally I would just put a compatible style fixture in its place, which you might or might not choose to use, so you avoid the cost of repairing the hole and painting entirely, as that is "lost" $.

If the kitchen/dining room ceiling is not accessible from above, then the electrician will have to tear into wall and ceilings, so installation labor might go to $400-600, and drywall reapir and painting probably to about $400-600, depending on how many holes the elecrtrician has to put in and assuming entire surface painting to get a uniform paint look on each disturbed wall or ceiling.

One possibility for savings might be low voltage lighting for some of the kithcen fixtures, which might reduce your wiring cost and number of holes if you do not have attic access.

Be careful on the dimmable LED bulbs - be aware that dimmable bulbs generally cost a lot more, and many brands don't perform well in dimming mode because they are designed to run at a constant voltage, and a lot will not dim past about 40% power before they flick out or start flickering. Some will actually fry the electronics and burn up at lower voltage. Also, there are three different types of dimmers and different bulbs need a different type dimmer switch, so you will have to be careful to always buy the right type bulb, and use all the same type bulb in a given circuit. Here is an article on the types of problmes you can have with LED dimming, even with bulbs designed to be dimmed -

Lighting Installation reviews in Chicago

A

Rating

“

Awesome electrician (

) was really cool, very helpful (As far as providing energy savings solutions) and went above and beyond, very easy to communicate. I had to run to home depot to get something (I bought the wrong thing) and trusted him.”

- Brendan S.

A

Rating

“

They were excellent. There were two gentlemen. They worked efficiently and they did a great job. I was very pleased. They finished the work in an hour.”

- ANNA MARIE Y.

A

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“

is a great electrician. This is the second time I have hired him for a small-ish job. He responded very quickly to my phone call and was able to come over the next week to give me an estimate. We were arranging some drywall work at the same time, so I wanted

to come in first to do the wiring so that the ...More drywall could be repaired when he was done with his interior work. Then once the drywall was completed and painted,

could install the sconce. There was alot of coordinating with many different people and it all worked out in the end. I would hire him again. ”

- STACZA L.

C

Rating

“

I hired

in September to do a number of small jobs, two of which involved woodworking – the replacement of rotten trim around a bathroom window and some cracked cherry cove molding in the kitchen along the floor of one wall and
the baseboards of some of the cabinets. He said the project should take him two days. The ...More non-woodworking projects went fine. However,

tried to put up window trim that was too narrow (and exposed the gap around the window where the drywall was cut for the window) and would have had I not come in and stopped him. He said I could fill in the gap myself! I specified I wanted the new trim to match the old trim when I contracted the job. He appeared frustrated, then admitted that he had not measured correctly and would have to call around to find the correct size or make the trim himself. I hired him specifically because he was a woodworker. I wished it to look professionally done and not a

's job. He did get trim from somewhere and while wider than the first, it still was not as wide as the trim he removed. This left old, dirty caulk exposed that he did not clean up. The new trim still left a gap exposed in the wall that required visible caulking so now I have to paint the walls. He did both the 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint one right after another with little dry time. The coats are very thin. He also managed to get a lot of small paint chips in the paint (probably fallen in from the can) when he painted the 2 x 1 foot window sill
which looks terrible but he refused to sand and repaint, telling me it was “satisfactory.” (I have had to fix this myself.) The
molding in the kitchen was installed without my approval of the profile (it wasn't quite the same as the remaining molding) or the
color (it didn't match). This was particularly frustrating as I had some original stain that matched the cabinets that I offered him before he started the job but he refused it, saying he could match the color without it. A helper came one day and, at my request, did put a coat the original stain on the new woodwork, but he also managed to spill the stain on the floor.

refused to replace a long piece of molding that cracked when he installed it with the nail gun leaving me with the same problem I had before he came. Also, instead of cutting a new piece of molding, he put a great deal of wood putty in a corner join because he had cut the angle wrong. (On his first day he told me he had plenty of molding and could replace additional pieces if I so desired.)

's “day” was 4 hours long. He did not

anything (which made me uncomfortable with the thought of him polyurethaning the new molding in the kitchen, so I'm doing that myself), and while he was never rude, he was not interested in what I wanted done but rather what he felt was “satisfactory.” I've never had a contractor

interest in a job so quickly, especially at so small a job. The two day project took about 4 visits, as his nail gun jammed the second day and he had to get that new piece of trim, and a couple of times when he was supposed to come he called tobeg off. Because of the window trim issue, I felt I had to watch him which worked to my advantage in some cases (I caught him doing things I was able to get him to correct) but he ignored me in others. He seemed content to suggest I do some of the contract work myself – like filling in the hole around the bathroom window – rather than doing what I hired him to do. There's no real point in hiring a contractor if you end up having to do a great deal of the work yourself.

is not the worst contractor I've ever had but he's willing to cut corners and ignore your legitimate requests. What you're left with is sloppy work and the same problems you hired him to fix. I think

can be a competent contractor when he wants to, but if he is unwilling to do the job as you specified, correct or even acknowledge his mistakes, you've paid for work that still needs doing and that's not acceptable. So you have to ask yourself if you want to hire a contractor that is satisfied with his own work or one who wants YOU to be satisfied with his work.

”

- Megan M.

A

Rating

“

and his crew were very professional, timely, and courteous. His crew were great with our two big enthusiastic dogs (making sure they closed the gates, cleaned up the back yard so there wasn't any garbage they could get into.) They worked on Saturdays as well. We had some unforeseen issues with rotting boards behind the ...More drywall in the basement and

made sure that they were handled quickly and repaired. We felt that the work was well done and that he was honest the entire time with us. We would use

Cooperation again without hesitation.”

- Bradley A.

B

Rating

“

was recommended to my by someone in my insurance agent's office. It appears to me to be a general contractor. They contracted with what seems to me to have been 4 separate subcontractors, of varying responsiveness & quality, which is why my overall rating is B.
We dealt with

, who was ...More pleasant, attentive and cooperative, although not always immediately responsive - I had to prod him for responses now & then. He put up with a great deal of indecisiveness from us - we kept changing our minds about the scope of work, both in large & small matters - and never once did he even intimate that he was annoyed, which I would have been if I were in his shoes. He gave us good advice about work we should think about having done. (I do believe, however, that he should have supervised the floor work more closely, as you will see from what I've written below. )
At no point did we feel that

was trying to oversell us. The portion of the work that was covered by insurance was done within the insurance specs & at the cost stated by the insurance. (Incidentally, this was State Farm & their estimates were entirely fair - even generous - and their service was everything we could have wished.) The additional work appears to me to have been priced fairly.
Painting: B. The painters were cooperative but inattentive to detail when it came to things like cutting in & painting everything that needed painting. So we had to keep an eye on their work. When we wanted things done over, or little differently, they did it without complaint. One of them suggested an improvement in the kitchen, involving an exhaust fan, which has turned out to work quite nicely.
Electrical: A. Excellent all the way around. The subcontractor was

Man aka Delta Electrical Industries. He & his assistant were very knowledgeable & responsive. We put in one set of lights in the hall & living room, decided we didn't like them, & had them taken out & different new ones installed. There were issues involving placement of wired smoke detectors, and exactly where it was possible to hang lights (this being a vintage building). These guys helped us get it right.
Flooring: C. This was the weak point in the services. Our kitchen floor needed rehabbing & required some wood to be replaced. The first time around, they didn't replace everything that needed replacing. Then they claimed to be able to replace wood with old wood that matched up with the existing wood, but ultimately said they didn't have the old wood after all. So now the kitchen floor has obviously been patched, since the new wood does not have quite the aged look the old wood has. They missed appointments without calling me. They kept sending out different guys who I had to bring up to date on what needed doing. They told

that I had told them not to bother with the wood under the refrigerator, which I did not do. We are not very happy with the outcome, although we can live with it, and not entirely convinced that it could not have been done better. My guess is that they underbid the job.
Carpeting: B. Our bedroom carpeting needed to be totally replaced. The carpeting subcontractor was a nice kid, but not someone who could guide us in selecting the right carpeting. That is, if we had known exactly what we wanted, he probably could have provided it, but he wasn't able to point us in the direction we needed to look to decide what to get. So we went to an outside provider (Home One) to get our carpeting.”

- Harmon D.

A

Rating

“

We talked over the phone some times that worked, which was no problem. He came over and installed the fan as well as a switch for the fan (instead of dealing with those chains hanging over the bed). The switch was an extra charge, I want to say it was $30 which I thought was totally worth it. He was friendly, clean, professional and it seemed he ...More was very experienced. There was no mess, no problems, no regrets. I would recommend him to anyone.”

- Jerry C.

A

Rating

“

I have used

for a variety of projects in the past and have always been satisfied with their service. This was a small project but nevertheless important to me and the tenant in the apartment. A lighting fixture had failed and one room of the apartment did not have a functioning ceiling light. I bought a new fixture and emailed ...More

to see when he could install it. To make a long story short, he texted me and asked if I could be their in an hour. I said "yes" and he arrived promptly, took down the old light fixture and put up the new one, and everything was completed in 45 minutes. Timing isn't always going to work out this well, but I have always had excellent service from